


Warmth

by Dgcakes (ficsnfun)



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-01
Updated: 2015-07-19
Packaged: 2018-04-02 09:55:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4055683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ficsnfun/pseuds/Dgcakes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just a bunch of drabbles of Fenris and Aeyin Hawke slowly falling in love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Description

“You know, you always describe me so much more interesting than I am, Varric.” Aeyin Hawke’s voice rose over the sound of water and chatter down below, as he leaned on a wall overlooking the Docks.

The dwarf glanced up from where he stood, a smile playing on his features, “Oh really? What makes you say that?”

“I heard you telling somebody in the Hanged Man about this golden-eyed mage who could rip doors off hinges and was towering over thugs and scaring them into submission and Maker, I was surprised when I suddenly heard you say it was me. Either you’re taking some severe liberties, or we need to get your eyes examined, Good Ser.” 

A low whistle left Isabela from where she leaned over the wall’s edge, feeling the breeze on her face and admiring the ships. “Are you trying to get him laid, Varric? Because that would work.” the woman didn’t even try to hide the sly wink she shot Varric, or the appraising glance she gave Hawke.

“Rivaini, if I ever branch out into matchmaking, you’ll be the first to know.”

“You’d better. That’s my department.” the woman reached out beside her, nudging at Hawke’s side, “If you really want to get him laid, you should mention the freckles.”

Aeyin chuckled quietly, “Yes obviously. Freckles and legs for days. Truly I am the epitome of good looks and taste.” he rolled his eyes, reaching out to lightly swat Isabela’s shoulder.

“Well, how would you describe yourself?” Varric was fiddling with the sleeves on his coat. The Docks really were his least favorite part of town, but Isabela loved them so hanging out for a little while they were running jobs down here was a necessity. He just needed to find more interesting things to do than worry over it.

“Big gangly idiot who tells more bad jokes than is good for him? I don’t know. You tell the stories how you wanna tell them, I’m not complaining. It’s just funny how much more interesting I sound in your version.” Aeyin scratched nervously at his beard, the motion of his hand followed by green eyes half-hidden beneath the white bangs of their final party member.

Fenris had said next to nothing this entire time - he usually didn’t, unless he had a question or someone addressed him first - but he was always watching, particularly Hawke. He was wary of all of them, but especially any mages in the group - and since a mage was leading them, he got the most scrutiny. He had realized, however, that watching Aeyin had become something a little more routine than suspicious.

He found himself tracking little movements, which once might have been a habit to watch out for magic use, but now just seemed to be part of understanding his companion. His eyes would linger on Hawke’s body language or he’d find himself thinking about things the man said with mild interest. Fenris had been alone for quite some time, so getting used to people again, to maybe being close to them in some fashion, it required a lot of adjustment.

“How would you describe him, huh?” Isabela’s voice drew Fenris’s gaze towards her and away from Hawke.

“Why…are even you asking me?” the words came slow, and with a lot of puzzlement. Did she have some reason to think he would even know where to begin describing a person off-the-cuff?

The woman’s gaze held a sort of wicked playfulness as she looked at him, “Because you’re always watching everyone, why wouldn’t you be able to say what they’re like?”

“Very well.” Fenris was not quite as incapable of joining in play as one might suspect, so he turned his gaze once more to Hawke’s features.

His first instinct was to say ‘he’s a mage’. But that described plenty of people, didn’t it? And visually…no, Aeyin looked nothing like a mage, or at least any he’d met previously. Anders looked like a scruffy mage, Merrill looked like a Dalish mage, but Aeyin Hawke didn’t look like a mage at all - if he hadn’t seen the man use magic plenty, he’d have never even known. In fact, Fenris hadn’t known at first. But that was probably a good thing for an apostate…

Green eyes trailed over Hawke’s figure but still he couldn’t think of anything suitable. There were certainly noticeable features about him - the red bandana that covered the entirety of his hair so none could ever see what state it was in (he’d learned there was a betting pool on what Hawke’s hair actually looked like, even); golden eyes that stuck out against skin browned and freckled by the sun; A beard that actually didn’t manage to look scraggly; Being so tall he was head and shoulders above most of his friends, with Aveline only coming up to his throat; All of these were features notable to pick Aeyin out of a crowd, but none seemed an apt description of him. Perhaps it was due to how new he was to this, or the fact he was still trying to figure this man out himself, but this was frustrating.

It felt like a defeat to finally say, “He…doesn’t look like a mage.” and it tasted disgusting on his lips. Fenris wasn’t sure he even dared look at the man for that one.

Aeyin didn’t seem to mind, however, beaming in the elf’s direction. “From you, I’d consider that a compliment.”

That bloody smile of his was probably one of the most criminal things that came with associating with this group, which was saying a lot given they tended to get up to theft and murder a lot. Whenever Hawke smiled like that, Fenris had a hard time not returning it, even a little, or laughing at whatever he was saying, albeit discretely. No one had the right to a smile with that kind of power, especially not a mage.

It may have made him feel a little better about being put on the spot, but it certainly didn’t help the chasm of disappointment for not being able to describe Aeyin better. It could be a matter of life and death, knowing your surroundings, people included, at least in some respect. And anyone he spent considerable amount of time with, watched as carefully as this, should be easy to sum up. So why wasn’t Hawke?


	2. Playful

“So, elf. That thing you do with your hand…” the dwarf’s tone made that start seem so much more innocuous than it was. No questions about Fenris’s abilities could truly be considered ‘innocent’.

Fenris was in no mood to indulge anyone’s humor at his expense, at this point. It had been a long day and they had a long walk to get back to Kirkwall. “I can already tell this isn’t going anywhere pleasant…”

“Generally, neither is the hand.”

The near inaudible words were picked up by sharply tuned elven ears, causing Fenris to sputter and choke on a laugh, just a fraction but enough to feel. He schooled himself quickly and shot a glare forward at the back of Hawke’s head. If looks could kill, this one would have done so - or at least put holes in that damn red bandana he was wearing. Quickly, Fenris glanced between Varric and Aveline to see if either had caught his momentary break in composure.

The guard was too lost in her own thoughts, and for his part, Varric seemed to have either not noticed or was ignoring it in favor of continuing his train of thought, “I bet that makes pickpocketing easier.”

Fenris cocked a brow at the dwarf, sighing through his nose to get his breathing back to normal, “I’ll try it some time and find out.” His response was lighter than the last, though he tried not to think about it.

“I don’t recommend that.” Aveline was paying enough attention to pick out ‘pickpocketing’ and ‘try it’ apparently, but otherwise was focused ahead. She was likely going over what she was to say to the Captain when they returned, about the armed ambush they’d discovered.

Once more, Hawke’s comment sneaked in, barely above a breath, “Yeah, you might reach too far and accidentally grab someone’s ass instead of their wallet.”

This time Fenris caught the glance that accompanied his words, the sly smirk from Aeyin that indicated he knew exactly who the only person who could hear him was. The elf glared at him, and Hawke made a face, sticking out his tongue and winking. Fenris huffed a bit, but didn’t speak. He’d already picked out, by this point, that Aeyin’s teasing washarmless, and meant to make him feel included.

Aveline, however, had caught the exchange and narrowed her eyes. “Hawke, are you making trouble again?” she gave a displeased sniff usually reserved for criminal implications, “Fenris, if he’s being a pain, this is how you handle it.”

Fenris almost stopped her - he certainly didn’t mind Hawke’s teasing, not in this vein anyway. But that’s when he noted the sly smile building on the woman’s features as she reached out and smacked the back of her hand against Aeyin’s chest. A controlled motion, quickly coiled then released, a hit that would leave a red spot at its worst. Aveline was a good bit stronger than that, she could bowl men over with a hit if she wanted. The elf’s brows furrowed, watching carefully.

The hit to his chest made Hawke’s breath leave him in a whoosh, and he doubled over, pressing a hand to the spot. His laughter came out in a wheeze and he stumbled a moment but didn’t fall.

“Ooooow-veline.” the gasped pun got him shoved on the shoulder by the guard, falling over properly this time and still laughing.

Fenris stared down at the mage before him, watching Aeyin try to regain his composure. That was the moment he took for his revenge, turning to Aveline once more. “Hit him again, that one was bad.” He couldn’t be sure if it was the deadpan delivery or the fact he was joining in that had Hawke burst into another round of laughter, having to bury his face in his knee to stop it, but it was certainly worth the effort.

“Come on, let’s lay off or we’ll be at this all day.” Varric held up his hands, calling for ‘peace’ but it was all part of the play.

He walked forward, Aveline joining him, and they left Hawke to pull himself together. It wasn’t like he couldn’t get back into the lead quickly. Fenris hung back, watching Hawke after the other two had moved ahead. He was taking in this whole business, just seeing how it was actually taken.

There was still some level to this ‘having friends’ thing he wasn’t quite used to, and play was just as much part of it. It was one of the things that was allowed by freedom but didn’t always come naturally. Jokes he could process, but physical things, that was still weird to know the boundaries of. Hawke was essentially their leader, the ‘authority’ of the group in some capacity, and some mindsets died hard.

“She packs a damn wallop.” Aeyin grinned at Fenris from where he was seated on the ground. “You alright?” His gaze was soft, chin resting on his palm, elbow planted on his leg.

It seemed strange, being asked how he was by the person sitting on the ground who had just been smacked around by his friend as a joke. He could tell, for the most part, that Hawke was likely uninjured but it was still weird.

“I am reconsidering my decision to hang around you.” Fenris let the words come out flatly as he hesitantly offered a hand to help Hawke stand.

Aeyin had been moving to stand on his own, but he knew how rarely Fenris would even offer a hand in that sense so he took it with a bright smile, getting to his feet quickly. “We’ll grow on you in time.” Whether he’d intended that or not, those words came out right as Hawke stood up to full height, drawing Fenris’s gaze from down before him to now a good deal above him.

That smile had managed to get more criminal since before, and Fenris’s hand tingled oddly even as Hawke let it go. “I think you’ve done more than enough growing.” the elf grumbled, before taking his now released hand and planting it firmly at Hawke’s chest, pushing the man back over and turning away quickly to stride after the others. The surprised squawk from the man right before hitting the ground and started laughing again were definitely worth the trouble Fenris was going through now trying to coax the red from his cheeks before he caught up to Aveline and Varric.


	3. Innuendo

“So what’s with that magical fisting thing you do?” Isabela’s words managed to draw the whole party to a halt, dead stop in the middle of the Lowtown Bizarre.

Fenris’s eyes widened for a moment at her question - or more specifically, her phrasing. “I’m…sorry?” That did not sound at all like something he got up to at all. That sounded like the kind of thing one would hire an ‘apostitute’ for, as Isabela would put it.

The woman seemed to either not know, or not care in the slightest what she’d implied. Given it was Isabela, probably the latter. “You know, when you stick your hand into people.” The clarification did not, in fact, help make that sound any less sexual.

In front of them, Hawke had stopped and turned around to give the elf a helpless look. At the very least, Fenris was not the only one who would not generally describe what he did as ‘magical fisting’. It was definitely worth the brief confusion to watch Aeyin’s face screw up as he tried desperately to not burst out laughing. His cheeks puffed and turned red as he bit his lower lip, eyes pulled shut and freckles standing out dramatically over his cheeks from the motions.

“Oh. That. Yes. It’s a…talent.” he tried to not smirk too widely at Hawke, wondering if the completely plain response would be enough to break a proper laugh out of him.

As it turned out, it was actually Isabela that broke him, or at least forced a real response.

“You could make so much coin with that.” she’d suggested, obviously going over several of the possibilities in her mind.

That was when Hawke squeaked out a response. “At the fucking Rose maybe.” he was trying so hard not to laugh, he really was. His friends were not helping.

“Really, Hawke, it’s called the Blooming Rose, they have some subtlety still.” Varric suggested, elbowing the man in the ribs.

Fenris all but pounced on this opportunity, “Here I thought he was referring to the garden shop in the next building.”

Whether she’d been paying attention the whole time, or simply had an ear for when conversations when wicked places, Isabela leapt into the fray, “Around the next corner we’ll be heading to the ‘Definitely Not Sober’ Man. It’s our favorite boutique.”

“You guys are assholes.” Hawke had tears streaming down his face from the effort, and he had to lean forward and laugh into Varric’s shoulder. That was quite the sight since he essentially had to bend at the waist from at least a foot back to even reach.

Isabela gave a low coo, “If you’re going to bend like that, you’re going to invite people to get a handful of you.” There was certainly no hiding how she was watching his figure, though that seemed to just be how they joked around anyway.

“My shift at the Rose doesn’t start for another hour so there shall be no magical fisting just yet.” Fenris was more than a little proud of how completely blank and plain he managed to make the remark. His eyes were solely fixed on Hawke’s face, or what he could see of it in that moment. Partly, because he wanted to see the reaction…and partly to avoid following the same visual path Isabela’s eyes were taking over their leader’s figure.

That did it and Aeyin practically collapsed to the ground, falling off of Varric to land unashamedly on his ass in the middle of the ground and just laugh like crazy. He drew his long legs up to his chest and let out a heavy sigh into his knee, between bouts of breathless chuckles. “That’s it. I’m done. The Hawke is slain.”

“Who knew you had such a weakness for innuendos?” Varric looked at his friend, hands on his hips with a smile, “You’d think Rivaini would have broken you before now.”

That got him pointing at Fenris, “His fault. The innuendos are bad enough, but the deadpan growl makes everything worse.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” At the very least, this gave Fenris just a bit more power over the man. Because that smile, and increasingly, that laugh, were just too much influence for one person to have over him.


	4. Carrying

“If I might ask, are the pair of you…?” the question didn’t want to form quite right, even as Fenris watched Isabela wrap her legs around Hawke’s midsection, holding onto his shoulders as she did.

“Oh if only.” Isabela made a dramatic swooning motion that nearly toppled her from Aeyin’s back, had he not reached behind him to hold her on. It was another of the things that made Fenris question their relationship status - Hawke seemed very easily in sync with Isabela, moreso than some of the others.

Aeyin seemed to be confused by this whole business, blinking a bunch and cocking his head to the side as if he could hear better by doing that, even without Fenris repeating the question. “…it’s just a piggyback ride…I give them to Merrill too…”

This didn’t really do much to answer Fenris’s question. Well, rather, it seemed like a denial on both parts, but it didn’t actually explain what this was if it wasn’t some kind of relationship. His gaze remained pointed, hoping they’d get the picture and just speak anyway. Isabela had a habit of saying whatever she wanted anyway.

“He wouldn’t know what you do with Daisy, Hawke, you never take them anywhere together.” it seemed, at least, Varric had pity on the elf - or a desire to continue this discussion - and so decided to speak up.

Hawke looked puzzled, his brows knitting, “Well yeah, seemed like common sense to avoid taking the guy who pointedly dislikes mages anywhere in the company of more mages than necessary.” It didn’t need to be said that all mages were more than necessary to Fenris, it was clear he meant ‘putting up with more mages than just me’. “Point still stands though - I act this way with other people, so I guess don’t read too much into it?”

Isabela snickered, “This is true. Eventually you’re just going to walk back into Kirkwall with one of us on your back while you carry the other one.”

“If I did that, Carver would throw a fit.” Aeyin turned to rub his nose against her cheek, an amused smirk on his face that grew as she laughed more at it. “‘Brother, why must you always show off. I can lift two women too you know. I could lift more even.’”

“Yes but what if you walked in carrying me and Fenris, then what?” Isabela tugged on one of Hawke’s ears, just by the small gold ring in it, and made a joking nipping motion.

“Then he’d say ‘Brother, that’s disgusting.’ Would still totally complain about me being able to too.” Hawke reached up to bat Isabela away from his ear, “Anyway, I’m pretty sure if I walked into Kirkwall carrying Fenris, we’d have bigger issues than ‘what would Carver say?’. Issues like ‘what the fuck were we fighting?’ or ‘How fast can I get him back to his mansion before he wakes up and I get in trouble?’ or ‘Do you think he’ll put up with Anders long enough for healing?’”

“The answer to that last one is ‘no’.” Fenris chuckled quietly, “The others are…interesting. Are you implying the only reason you would agree to carry me somewhere is if I were unconscious?” He let his tone drop a bit, giving Hawke a sidelong look through his lashes.

“Oh I’d prefer you conscious, but I have a feeling if I were carrying you anywhere conscious, there’d be far fewer people about to make comments.” Hawke smirked at him.

Fenris quirked a brow, but kept his tone low and quiet, stepping just a tad closer to the man as he spoke, “It’d have to be at my place then, last I checked you share a room with your relatives.”

Hawke stopped and stared, blushing all the way up to his ears. He bit his lip and covered his face with a hand, already starting to laugh. “Dammit, Fen, you are an ass.”

Isabela and Varric’s laughter at Hawke’s misery really should have added together to form a glorious feeling of victory. Instead, the elf was pretty sure his own ears were turning as red as Hawke’s. He was used to Varric using nicknames for everyone, and to Hawke shortening certain people’s names (‘Bells’ for Isabela being the most common), but he’d never heard the man affectionately shorten his own in that fashion. And it was…quite satisfying…in an odd way.


	5. Flirting

“That’s four serpents, you daft elf! You’ve won.” Varric said with overdramatized exasperation, tossing Fenris’s cards back on the table after he checked them. Really, that was some of the best luck he’d seen in a while, and the elf couldn’t even recognize it!

Fenris gave a soft chuckle, amused at how his bluff had unintentionally turned out to be truth. He was just about to surreptitiously check those cards again to try and understand what made that a winning combination, when the door to Varric’s suite opened with more company arriving.

Isabela was slung across Hawke’s shoulders and they were both redfaced from how hard they were laughing, even as the man flopped down into a seat and let her down. The woman didn’t take too long to sit up properly on his knee and sling an arm around his shoulders where her torso had just rested moments before.

“You two are not going to believe what our little Aeyin did.” Isabela’s voice already had that mild slur to it that indicated that prior to this, she had probably been downing the house special. “It was glorious, Varric you should have been there.”

Hawke had leaned his forearms on the table and had now buried his face in them, snickering muffled slightly by that. His ears were visibly as red as his bandana and something about his laugh hinted he’d probably had as much, if not more, to drink than Isabela. Which was unusual - Aeyin was more of a ‘one, maybe two drinks maximum’ kind of guy.

“What did I miss that warranted you getting Hawke liquored up, Rivaini?” the dwarf already had that glint in his eye that said he was more than ready to retell this story thirty different ways, all with the proper embellishments.

Hawke made a pathetic whine into his arms, “I don’t know how to handle flirting. End of story.”

“That…just leaves more questions than it answers.” Fenris had been modestly sure that, up till this point, Aeyin Hawke was more than capable of flirting and being flirted with. Because if he wasn’t, how the hell did he explain calling Fenris handsome or half the implications tossed about between any of the three present friends?

The coy smile on Isabela’s face said she, at the very least, caught where his mind had wandered. “He’s jumping ahead. We have to tell them the start before we get to the good part.”

“Alright, so who was flirting with whom?” Varric, ever the expert at stories, was speaking quietly to coax the tale properly from Hawke. “Start with where you were and what happened.”

Hawke looked slightly up from his arms, just his eyes visible, and made another muffled huff. “Darktown. We went to check in with Anders after we got back from today’s job.”

Already this sounded like a bad plan. Anders and Fenris didn’t generally see eye to eye and his entire…situation was a tad on the ‘completely stupid and an example of the evils of magic’ side, as far as Fenris was concerned. Hawke might get along with the man, but that tended to be due to questionable tastes on his part than anything else.

“So you went to see Anders. Did something happen with one of his patients?” Varric started there, hoping to lead into the proper matter with that.

“I wish. I don’t have to see them very often. I might actually live down my embarrassment at that point.” Aeyin grumbled a bit, “Bells, you tell this part.” He turned a pitiful pout to the woman at his side.

Isabela pat her friend’s bandana’d head sympathetically, “So there we were, just chatting with Anders, and Hawke is being his usual understanding jokey sweetheart self-”

“I didn’t say you had to play me up-”

“Shhh, my retelling, my word choice.” the woman cooed, “Anyway, so somehow they get on talking about mage things, blah, blah, the usual. The next thing I hear is Anders saying something along the lines of ‘does it make you uncomfortable, that I’ve been with men?’ and I’m barely keeping my face straight, when Hawke sort of clumsily stutters that he hadn’t really thought about that before, and Anders, bless his soul - or is it souls? - says he can take his time to think about it with as much detail as he’d like, all sultry, right? Hawke barely stumbled on through the conversation, I have never seen him that at a loss. I think the only reason he remembered how to talk was because things went back to the whole raging against Templars business.”

Aeyin let out another muffled whine, “I was fine while it was just joke flirting and such, hey, guy needs to crack a smile. I just didn’t know how to respond at that point! He bowled past me calling him cute to talk about one of his past relationships - a relationship with someone we had to kill, I should add - and then comes back around to asking if I’m uncomfortable with him having had relationships with men. Like I dunno, should I be? Of all the things to be uncomfortable with, that’s the one we stick on? ‘Oh I can tolerate you having wacky spirits in your head but men in your bed, no that’s going too far’?”

By now, Varric was chuckling quietly, “I don’t think he meant to upset you, Hawke. Blondie’s just… a complete mess socially. Possibly worse than the Elf.”

“I know he didn’t, I’m just hung up on this for stupid reasons.” finally, the man sat up properly and shook his head, “Isabela got me all liquored up so I would be less of a mess about this and I still am, it sucks.”

“I was unaware you found him at all appealing.” Fenris suggested, hoping to sound more joking than he felt about it. It felt a little foolish to be annoyed by that, even if he wrote it off as just his heavy disliking of Anders.

Hawke snorted, “I can think someone’s easy on the eyes without being attracted to them. I can think Bianca’s the most beautiful crossbow in the room, doesn’t mean I want to or should ever go steady with her. For one thing, I couldn’t hurt Varric that way.” he put a hand to his heart dramatically and gestured to the crossbow.

“She appreciates the respect and consideration.” Varric fondly patted his crossbow with a smile at that.

“It’s also why it’s pretty safe to hang all over Hawke without a worry.” Isabela smirked, flopping dramatically across Aeyin’s lap for emphasis. “Disappointing as it can be.”

The man snickered and took the opportunity to poke Isabela’s stomach, “I dunno about safe, Bells. I have been known to tickle unsuspecting pirates.” He grinned down at her.

Fenris raised a brow, “Do I want to know what you two are getting at?”

This had the man looking up in surprise. Hawke’s freckled cheeks were still a bit red from blushing and the drink, and it gave his soft eyes an interesting glow to them. “Uhhhh, tickling? It’s a thing?” The little lopsided smile on his face was helping nothing.

“Not that.” Fenris snapped, grabbing a small cushion off a nearby seat to lob at the man. That cute dopey expression was unbearable.

“Oh for the love of - he likes meeeeeen. Just men. You know-” Isabela had been dramatically flailing her arms to emphasize her point, when the pillow Fenris had thrown hit Aeyin in the face and promptly fell off onto Isabela.

“He knows. Shut up.” Hawke took that moment to make sure she didn’t finish the sentence before smirking, “What we should really find out if he knows is the dangers of starting a pillow fight.” There was an almost deadly gleam in his eyes, that was quickly mirrored by Isabela’s as she turned to face Fenris, sitting up slowly.

Fenris raised a brow and leaned a bit away from them, glancing to Varric. However, his friend had already stood and backed away from the table.

“Uh uh, Elf. You picked the battle, you’re gonna face it.” and he promptly headed to the door to see about another drink. This was going to be priceless. Sure, no one was going to believe there’d been a drunken pillowfight in his room in the middle of the night, but that didn’t make it not worth telling. Maybe Daisy’d enjoy hearing about it.


	6. A Hairy Situation

“Just don’t drink so much you start thinking Gamlen sounds reasonable.” Aeyin reached out to ruffle his younger brother’s hair. He didn’t add ‘or that I have to carry you home, again’ because he liked to let Carver have at least a little dignity, dammit. Not so much he wouldn’t ruffle his hair or take advantage of being vastly taller, just the important stuff.

Carver crossed his arms over his chest till his brother moved away, then he quickly reached up to straighten his hair back into place, “Why do I have to go drinking with your friends anyway?”

“Because you don’t actually have any of your own, Junior?” Varric suggested.

The dwarf was lounged comfortably at a table in his Suite at the Hanged Man, gesturing for drinks to be passed around the table. They had actually managed to gather all of their friends together - like it or not - for drinks and Wicked Grace, which was probably going to end up terribly, but that was the fun.

Varric slapped Aeyin on the arm when the man took up a seat next to him. “Let me guess what you’re having - milk?” he teased, a hearty chuckle on his lips. Hawke didn’t start drinking till at least halfway through a card game, usually, and possibly not at all if he was keeping an eye on Carver.

“Varric, its too early in the evening for a suggestion that disgusting. I brought a kettle, I’m making tea because I can’t bring myself to drink the water here unboiled.” Hawke stretched out sideways in his seat, turned mostly away from the table so he didn’t kick anyone under it.

“And here I thought random illnesses were all part of the fun of this place.” Anders gave a warm smile from where he sat at the other end of the table. Getting the mage out of Darktown to socialize had been a bit of a chore, but seeing him lose terribly at cards was always worth it.

Fenris shot a dirty look around the table from where he was seated exactly across from Hawke, at Varric’s right. A card table with three mages, two of which he hated, as well as Carver and Aveline. Truly, this had been a great idea on someone’s part.

Next to Hawke, not at all minding having the man stretching his legs behind her chair, was Merrill, with Isabela on her other side. She tended to sit between the pair she was most comfortable with, especially because both Aeyin and Isabela had a tendency towards helping her when she started struggling with certain game rules or concepts in the middle. Language barriers were bad enough without the confusion of strange game rules or how to cheat or not cheat.

As Carver took up a seat opposite her, Merrill’s face suddenly lit up. “Ooh! I’ve just realized. You probably know the answer!” she babbled at the warrior, who seemed delighted at her addressing him.

“I might be able to. What did you want to know?” Already hoping to strut some sort of impressive knowledge, hoping he’d maybe, somehow, seemed knowledgable about something beyond ‘swording’, as Merrill called it.

Without missing a beat, Merrill pointed at Aeyin’s head, and his usual red bandana, “Hawke always wears that. What does his hair look like? Does he have hair? He won’t tell us. You probably know.”

Immediately a loud groan left Carver and he reached to snatch his drink from the waitress bringing it over. Of course it was a question about his brother. Things always came back around to Aeyin, didn’t they? He could never get asked about anything about himself, it always had to come back to how great his brother was.

“Poor Junior, always a bridesmaid…” Varric chuckled, taking a sip of his own drink. To be fair, he had odds laid on the state of Hawke’s hair too - presently he suspected short and messy, always bedhead looking, but he was in no rush for answers. The suspense made things more fun.

Merrill looked confused, “Carver’s a bridesmaid? But who’s getting married?” she turned, eyes wide at Aeyin, “Hawke, you aren’t getting married are you? Not without telling me?” She seemed almost hurt by that.

This broke a loud laugh out of Hawke, who leaned forward to put his arms around Merrill and pull the smaller mage into a loose hug. “I promise, if I’m ever married, you’ll be plenty informed. I’ll make sure Varric is best man so he can help me make sure everyone has invitations.”

‘But what if you marry Varric, will he still help with invitations then?” Merrill asked, returning the hug anyway, despite her curious question.

Once more, the dwarf chuckled from his position at the head of the table. “Daisy, you know that’s never going to happen. Hawke’s too high-maintenance for me, and besides, Bianca’s the jealous type.” he pat his crossbow affectionately.

“What nonsense did I miss this time?” Aveline entered the room, seemingly from a trip to the bathroom. It certainly explained the tankard at the seat between Anders’ end of the table and Carver’s spot. The one conveniently positioned across from Isabela, to be able to give her the dirtiest of looks.

“Nothing important, Merrill got confused by something Varric said, that’s about it.” Hawke was still bent to be against the elf girl’s chair, since Merrill was still holding onto him from their hug. He tended to not like breaking hugs with her early, since they seemed to be a rare comfort for Merrill. “She tried to ask Carver about my bandana.”

“Is that all?” Aveline snorted, taking up her drink once more. It was rare the newly-appointed Guard Captain took time off to spend with her friends, especially in this place, but a bit of relaxation before her new responsibilities began would be good. Plus it gave her a chance to keep the others in line at their parties. “I took a good moment to leave then. Hello Hawke,Carver.” The woman nodded to each of her old friends politely.

“I notice you didn’t actually answer us, Carver. You wouldn’t hold out for the sake of your brother’s dignity, would you?” Anders had staked a decent bit of coin on Hawke having messy almost-curls, just barely chin length. It would have been a decent look for his face, to say the least, especially with that beard.

Isabela laughed, “You’re just trying to get him to admit that Hawke isn’t bald so you don’t lose to Merrill.” she shook her head, shuffling the cards again, almost ready to deal.

Fenris, still mostly silent in the group, stole a glance at Aeyin. He had decided to join in on this nonsense bet - only a few silver, really, but it was enough to be a bet - and he couldn’t help but find the suggestions all amusing. Anders or Varric had the most likely choices, whether he wanted to admit it or not - short but messy seemed like it suited Hawke’s style. His own guess had been to be contrary at best, just for the sake of betting something the others hadn’t. But with how tight and even that bandana looked, there was really no way for it to be true.

Carver, it seemed, was puzzled by the suggestion, “Brother’s not bald, where would you get that idea? He spends an hour on his hair at least, every morning. If he were bald, we might get more done.” he gave his brother a slightly annoyed look, though it was mostly in good fun. To be fair, they both took a bit too much time on their hair, his was just in a more managable state.

“I didn’t this morning.” Aeyin pointed out with a mock-pout. “We needed to rush out early to help mother. Its not even styled today.”

A wicked look passed over several faces, but the wickedest of all was Isabela’s, who took advantage of Hawke still being at Merrill’s side to reach up and snatch the bandana from his head.

“Wait - Bells, no!-” Hawke started, suddenly realing what he got set up for and flailing a moment, but the damage was already done.

A silken sheet of long black hair fell from where the red bandana had carefully concealed, twisted then wrapped carefully around his head and flattened to not show. The twist of hair had easily come undone with its confines removed, and with his position, the hair now worked as a curtain, almost blocking Merrill from view behind it.

“Oh!” the girl let out a noise of surprise and awe, reaching forward to sort of pet the wall of hair that hung over her, partly just to feel it but partly just to push it out of her way.

There was a mild silence that went around the table as everyone just stared. It gave Hawke a chance to recompose himself, sitting back and with a sweep of his hand, pushing his hair back over his shoulders and out of his face. This rather made him both the person with the most beard at the table, but also the most hair as well, when previously they’d been wondering if he’d had the least.

“Well. That’s…certainly not what I expected.” Aveline finally broke the silence, but gave a soft shrug otherwise. She hadn’t even been in on the pool, “But, so long as you take care of it and don’t get it caught anywhere and hurt yourself, it is of no business of mine.”

Hawke gave a sheepish grin to his friends. “It’s really not that big of a deal anyway. I just don’t like getting my hair dirty while working, but you guys were having such fun with the betting and it takes so long to do it every morning, I didn’t want to just spoil things.”

Across from him, Fenris was staring with mild disbelief. How. How had the damn mage hidden that much hair beneath a bandana that well? It certainly looked soft and well cared for and very…pliable, but it was still rather shocking to behold. Glancing to the bandana, he could see the thickness of the material had hidden that it was folded over several times to hide how he’d folded the locks into it, but still.

“Well, Elf, looks like you might have just won.” Varric smirked a bit, “And on your longshot too.”

“I object! He said ‘down to his ass at least’. For all I can tell, that only goes to mid-back!” Anders was NOT giving up more coin already, especially not to Fenris, without checking the damn rules. He was a little sore over Aeyin’s hair but not too much - this was still certainly attractive, and it made him look a tad less scruffy than with just the beard.

“But it is…past his arse even.” Carver didn’t see what the damn fuss was about, leaning back in his seat and taking as surly a sip as he could of his drink.

Hawke gave a quiet laugh, standing up and turning around with a light toss of his hair so it cascaded down his back to end just past the tops of his thighs. “Really, you lot, if you wanted me stripping, you could have at least waited till we started playing Wicked Grace. I haven’t even had the chance to lose honestly yet - Bells, may I have that back, please?” he was already gathering the hair back into some semblance of a ponytail to put back up.

“Oh no, not if you’re putting it away again.” Isabela crooned, holding the red fabric away from him tantalizingly.

“I rather like it loose.” Fenris didn’t realize he’d spoken by that point, haven’t actually intended to say that out loud. Catching himself, he corrected, “It’s a proper reminder that I won.”

Aeyin chuckled, reaching out and snatching the bandana back from Isabela anyway - she wasn’t holding onto it that seriously. “Well, if you all like it so much then, I must oblige.” he hummed, releasing the ponytail and instead wrapping the bandana just a bit differently so he could tie it across his forehead to keep his hair back and out of his face, but otherwise leaving it loose to hang over his shoulders and back. “I’m sure you’ll all regret this soon enough.”

“I’m sure we will when we lose Daisy in it. For now, it’s time to start playing cards already. Rivaini, deal.” Varric waved the comments off, returning back to the topic at hand. This was actually going much better than was expected of the night.


	7. Trust?

“Going to Darktown for healing does not seem sanitary.” Fenris said as he worked to strip off his gauntlets, hissing when his injured shoulder moved in the process. It was his only explanation for why he’d just gone straight home after today’s work instead of going to Anders for healing.

“You could have asked me to to help with that instead, you know.” Aeyin grumbled, walking over and taking a careful hold of the elf’s arm to hold it in position so Fenris shrug out of the item the rest of the way. “I may not be a supreme spirit healer or something, but I can patch up a few things here and there.”

Fenris gave Hawke a dirty look, “Yes, because I want you using magic on me, in any situation.” his growl lacked bite.

“Bandages exist.” Aeyin’s response was deadpan even as he reached his free hand to start undoing the back of Fenris’s armor - moving his arms back to do it himself would aggravate the already deep wound.

Together they managed to get the chestpiece off of him and assess the damage better. During their fight with a group of Tal-Vashoth, one of their enemies had managed to cleave straight into Fenris’s shoulder, on top of some of their regular in-fight injuries. It was only his skills and determination that kept the elf going at that point, but he’d kept his mouth shut about how bad it was for a time - they’d all been pretty badly shaken by that whole business, and even after when meeting with the Arishok.

The elf had hoped to merely retreat to his mansion to lick his wounds, but it seemed Hawke was determined to get after him about making sure he was alright. Now they were alone in extremely close proximity and Fenris was half dressed. Were he not in severe pain and getting light-headed from the bloodloss, it’d have been something worthy of remark.

“I am perfectly capable of - of…” Fenris trailed off as a dizzy spell hit him and he found himself leaning more against Hawke, the mage reaching up to steady him quickly.

Hawke snorted and escorted his companion to a nearby seat, leaning Fenris against the wall. He picked up a nearby towel to press to the wound and put the elf’s uninjured hand against it. “Stay put a second, Fen.”

It was hard to do anything but stay put, he was finding, despite his earlier protestations to the contrary. He’d have probably collapsed for a bit on his own here, or just dealt with it then finally let himself relax, but having Hawke helping him it made things different. It wasn’t exactly clear to him - especially right then - whether or not that difference was for good or for ill.

Aeyin returned shortly, a basin of water and some cloths to help mop up the blood better. “You’re crazy strong, that’s for sure.” he commented cheerily, moving the bloodied towel away to start washing his injury. “I’d probably have passed out in about five minutes having an injury like this.”

“Hawke, you would have passed out from something not even half this severe.” Fenris’s voice was weak and it was an effort to speak, but keeping up the conversation was good for helping keep him conscious.

The man was chuckling softly, continuing his work, till the wound was mostly clear. His hand hovered over Fenris’s skin, hesitating where normally magic would probably come second nature. Honey-gold eyes were searching the elf’s features, asking without properly phrasing the question. He didn’t start using the healing magic till Fenris nodded.

When his shoulder was properly moveable again, the elf made a bit of a show of shoving Hawke off of him. His motions were extremely ginger, but Aeyin still had the decency to fall over from the minor shove as if it had been a great blow.

“You just have a thing for seeing me on the ground don’t you?” Hawke laughed, sitting up again and crossing his legs, taking a more comfortable position on the floor. His eyelids drooped as he looked up at Fenris, mumbling a bit under his breath, a smile already starting to play at his lips, “Maker, you’re gorgeous.”

A blush colored the elf’s cheeks and the tips of his ears felt warm. Once more he reached out and swatted Hawke’s face, much less sharply than he might normally. The comment had been sweet and sounded so earnest, it was strange, especially compared to their usual coy flirting. Here he was sitting covered in his own blood and sweat and looking a mess, half out of armor and Hawke had the audacity to call him gorgeous? And sound so serious about it too.

The hint seemed to be clear, anyway, and Aeyin laughed once more, standing again and striding out of reach. “How about I draw you a bath and let you handle cleaning up properly then we can maybe see about dinner or something. You should probably replenish, and I need a good excuse not to eat in Lowtown tonight.”

Fenris tried to not watch those long legs or the sway of Hawke’s hips as he walked away, shrugging at the suggestion. “If you must. I can tolerate your company for a bit longer, then.”

Turning back again, Hawke gave a coy pout, “Oh would you? What an honor.” he gave a dramatic bow with a flourish then headed back to his tasks.

At the very least, the man didn’t stay once the bath was drawn and Fenris actually made it to the water’s edge. He may have felt close to Hawke, but not quite that close - at least not as of yet. It was still a little unnerving that he trusted the mage enough to deal with his injuries like this, anything more that seemed quite out of the question, and the elf needed time to process this whole encounter before dinner.


	8. Rain, Panties & Answers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A special thanks to kisu-no-hi for the inspiration for this particular scene.  
> I was inspired by this piece: http://kisu-no-hi.tumblr.com/post/113693717029/theyre-gross-i-want-ten-of-them  
> forever ago and this just kinda happened. Also fic namedrop this chapter woo!

“Andraste’s Tits, why did we decide to go out to the coast on a day like this again?” Varric sighed heavily as he wrang out his sopping coat.

“Because it was sunny when we left Kirkwall?” Aeyin had the decency to sound sheepish, helping Isabela hang their gear up at the back of the cave, using his force magic to shove things through cracks in the cave wall to secure them in place.

The team had been out on the Wounded Coast running a few jobs when a storm had hit. They’d made it to a cave to take shelter before things had gotten severe, but the whole group was soaked. Trying to salvage their armor - and maybe their dignity - was going to be difficult.

Fenris had been searching the cave for enemies - particularly the giant spiders that loved to lurk in these areas - but had found nothing. He shivered as his ice-cold armor clung to his skin, but there was no helping it. He didn’t have the same layers to protect him as Varric did, or anything to change into. Had he been alone, he’d have just considered stripping down till his armor dried, but that wasn’t really an option in this company.

“Tell me you still have a spare pair of underwear in that pack of yours for me. My entire outfit soaked through.” Isabela craned her neck over Hawke’s shoulder as he tried to open his gear to see how dry it was.

The comment caused Fenris’s ears to perk and stare at the pair again - once more wondering at their already far too comfortable friendship - but at the very least he wasn’t alone. Varric seemed just as confused about this statement as anyone else.

“Does one of you want to share why Hawke would be carrying underwear for you to begin with? I’m not judging it’s just…a little surprising.” the dwarf put his hands on his hips, letting his damp coat hang over one arm as he did.

A quiet chuckle left Aeyin as he leaned his face against the cave wall - the back of his neck was certainly red, so his cheeks likely were too. “Its time you two learn my secret - I am a complete mother hen.”

Fenris shared a glance with Varric, who snorted.

“Hawke, we know that. Anyone who knows you more than five minutes knows that. What has that got to do with you carrying Isabela’s underwear?” the elf crossed his arms over his chest, hoping to warm himself that way as well as add effect to his word.

Aeyin shook his head and sighed heavily, “It’s a long story. The best answer I can give you is that I used to carry around a spare pair of smallclothes for Bethany after something that happened when she was younger. I mentioned it to Bells and Merrill once and well, here we are.”

The woman in question shrugged widely, “Sometimes a girl just needs a new pair in an emergency and a friend who will carry them for such times is a lifesaver.” she glanced down, “Especially when you don’t happen to wear pants.”

By this point, Hawke had pulled out a few items, including something folded that he handed over to Isabela, who darted off with it immediately. Turning back to his other teammates, Hawke tossed a large white bundle at Fenris’s face. The elf barely caught it before it hit the floor, unfolding the material to find himself staring at a large white shirt.

“Sorry, it’s one of mine. But that should hold you if you at least want to get out of some of your armor. Varric, do you need the other one?” Hawke held up what was now visibly another folded shirt.

Waving a hand, Varric shook his head, “No thanks, I’m fine.” he walked over to hang his duster with the rest of their drying gear. “This is why I wear a thick coat.” 

“And here I thought it was just your impeccable fashion sense.” Aeyin put the folded shirt down a moment, reaching back to pull the one he was wearing over his head and off.

In that moment, Fenris was given a very nice view of the planes of Hawke’s back and arms, the extent of the freckles coating his skin as well as an unimpeded view of just how long those legs of his were. It distracted the elf from the shirt in his hands and his chilled skin and still damp armor, even if just for a few moments. Really, how often did he get to visually appreciate someone’s looks?

A low whistle brought Fenris back to reality, as Isabela returned to the group, down to her undershirt and panties. “Did I come back in time for you two comparing chest hair?” she cooed, looking between Hawke and Varric, side by side. She certainly had a better view of Aeyin’s chest than Fenris did, that was for sure.

“Bells, come on. That’s no contest.” Hawke turned, gesturing at Varric as he did. He was quick to pull his shirt on after that, giving Fenris barely a chance to take his own estimate of the body hair contest. Not that he was interested in checking anyway, but still.

Fenris’s thoughts returned to his freezing armor and the elf quickly saw to peeling out of his gauntlets and chestpiece and pulling the shirt Hawke had given him on. It was huge, and it certainly didn’t fit his build, but what mattered right now was that it was clean and didn’t leave him feeling exposed while his armor dried.

“Pick your jaw up off the floor already, will you?” Varric made a dramatic sigh.

Looking up, Fenris was faced with the dwarf rolling his eyes, a smirking piratess and…Hawke. Hawke standing stock still, eyes fixated on Fenris and mouth slightly open as he watched. It was certainly not the first time Aeyin had seen him out of armor, though the last time he’d been a good deal more infirm and hadn’t just been easily taking off his gear. It drew a sly smile to his face, realizing he could at least make that same kind of impact on Hawke with his looks as the man made on him.

Varric, at least, caught that smirk and it just drew a more dramatized sigh from him. “You two. Stop ogling each other and worry about making camp. It’s cold and damp and I am not an outside kind of creature.”

“I’m sure those two are thinking of plenty of things to increase the temperature in here.” Isabela crowed, throwing her wet things with the pile and nudging Aeyin in the chest.

Hawke shook out of his almost trance, hiding his face in his hands again with a blush. “Maker’s balls, you two.” he said before swatting Isabela’s hand away. “Get out of my way, I need to make a fire up.”

“Any wood we’d be able to find is damp.” Fenris observed, thinking about the last storm he’d had to camp through. It’d been back in the jungle in Seheron and it had not been pleasant at all. In his former life, he’d never really had to deal quite so much with needs like ‘foraging’ or ‘camping’, living with a posh magister who’d have done more than just minorly whine if he were in such environments too long.

“Its too bad we don’t have an unnatural user of powers that defy nature or something isn’t it?” Hawke’s response was dry and said so plainly it took a moment before the pieces connected. Magic. Hawke was a mage. And he was proposing using magic to get a fire going.

Varric spotted the gears turning in Fenris’s head before the elf had even fully processed the thought. “Don’t you dare go on an anti-magic tirade this time, elf. Bianca and I are cold and grouchy and will not be held responsible for our actions.”

Fenris looked at Varric, about ready to snap at the dwarf for jumping to conclusions - but then he stopped. A laugh began to bubble in his chest. It was all so stupid. Here they were out on the coast worrying about panties in backpacks and cute chests and rain and magic, and it all felt so damn normal with these people. And when he started to laugh, soon after Hawke started too, then Isabela and finally Varric.

They stood laughing for a few moments till Hawke shooed the three of them to the other side of the cave so he could summon up a proper fire in the middle of the cave. Their clothes and gear could dry on one side while the four of them could stay on the other side for warmth. Aeyin walked to the nearby wall with his staff and flopped into a seated position, eyes fixated on the fire to keep it burning warmly without too much source beyond his own power. The flames danced and glowed, lighting his honey eyes up in new ways.

Isabela had no qualms moving to sit close to Aeyin’s side, lying her head against his shoulder and stretching out her legs beside him. She was near enough to the fire and to his form to stay warm and get some rest. Varric, wanting to be a bit closer to the fire, sat next to Aeyin in the space left by Isabela’s legs. Hawke didn’t even seem distracted from keeping the fire up as he extended one of his arms out and wrapped it easily about Isabela, resting his wrist on Varric’s shoulder - the soft glow in his fingers seemed to warm the dwarf a bit as well.

“Thanks Hawke.” Varric mumbled, settling himself in with Isabela.

The three of them just seemed to settle in together so easily, being affectionate and touchy as the situation required seemed so natural. Fenris stood awkwardly to the side, fiddling with the too-long sleeves of the shirt he’d been lent and just watching all of this. The elf found himself questioning, in moments like this, whether or not he’d ever really fit with free people. There was just so many things that seemed foreign or unwelcoming to him that seemed so natural to ‘friends’.

Aeyin glanced up from the fire and looked to Fenris oddly for a moment. There was something strange in his eyes as he stared into Fenris’s. He made a small gesture with his hand, beckoning the elf closer, glancing to the resting two on his one side then back to his free side and then Fenris. The smile starting to quirk on his features definitely seemed to imply he was thinking what he seemed to be.

Hesitantly, Fenris drew closer. He was just as cold as the other two had been, after all, and if he had to, he’d even admit he was probably even comfortable enough with Hawke to stay close to him when vulnerable. He trusted Aeyin not to use his magic to hurt them or to take advantage of the situation to attack. Settling beside the mage, Fenris felt the warmth emanating from his hands and slowly drew just a bit closer.

“Is it hard to concentrate on keeping the fire up like this?” He felt foolish asking questions about anything magical, not the least of which because it wasn’t something he wanted to understand generally, but more avoid.

But this was Hawke, and the man didn’t cast for all the same reasons Fenris had generally seen in the past. Fenris had seen Magisters use magic for all kinds of things in show to impress their fellows, or summoning demons in a fight. He’d seen plenty of combat magic, but the casual magic was the biggest sign of difference. Summoning up and holding flames going out of nothing was a perfectly valid trick for a mage, but using it to keep a damp cave warmed while cuddling up with others? How could anyone keep focused on that.

“It isn’t so bad. I used to do this to keep the twins warm at night when the whole family was travelling.” As if to prove his point, Aeyin reached out and brushed a damp lock of hair away from Fenris’s face. The warmth of his hands was quite a great deal more apparent in this motion and the elf had no power to stop himself from leaning into the touch. He’d never admit it, but the South being so much colder than Tevinter or Seheron got to him sometimes, and indulges like this…they were things he’d never have dreamed of.

It was in that moment, finding himself moving to lean up against Aeyin’s side, that hand sliding to rest on his other side, that an idle thought crept through the elf’s brain. As he felt a softly heated thumb stroke along his freezing ear-tips and shivered in contentment, he remembered a question asked of him months ago that had lain forgotten for so long - how to describe Aeyin Hawke? It was simple: Warmth.


	9. Bangs

“Venhedis!” Fenris hissed the curse as once more his bangs fell into his face during a fight and he had to shove them back out of the way with a clawed gauntlet. It was bad enough that it was dark already and there was a lot of activity around, but having his hair impact his visibility as well was just too much.

A low chuckle left Varric from his position at the back of the party, “Getting a little shaggy there, elf?”

“He’s going to join the ponytail club with us any day now.” Anders suggested, twirling his staff and slamming it into the ground, sending spells after his targets.

Isabela’s merry laugh came from Fenris’s side, “I think you look cute with it long.” she suggested with a wink, barely skipping a beat as she took a dagger to one of the gang members nearest to her.

“Oh but if Fenris grows it hair out, I’ll be all alone with short hair. That won’t be any fun will it?” Merrill swung her staff in an arc, putting several attackers to sleep.

“You won’t be. There’s still me.” Carver protested, charging into the sleeping group to cut them down without as much resistance. Given just how many were about, it wasn’t a bad tactic.

A low grunt left Aveline, “Why are we even debating this? Let Fenris do as he pleases with his hair, that’s what I say.” the guard captain bashed one of the false guards away from her with her shield and swept a few off their legs with her sword. “Maker knows, of all his life choices, that’s the one I’m least concerned about.”

Hawke, who was only a short ways behind Fenris, stopped at the same time the elf did to turn and stare at their friends. Amidst all the shouting and combat and nonsense from the guardsman pretenders and this was the talk they were having?

“I don’t see why you’re so damn concerned with my choices at all.” Fenris cut down a few more fake guards and rested his sword on the ground to take a moment and look around at all of the others.

With all of them present, they were quickly taking out individual groups of gang members and it meant lulls for these conversations came nicely, and they’d been shifting through topics all night. This was the last chance the whole group would be free before the Deep Roads expedition and it had been turned into a weird mix of celebration and turf challenges. Just get everyone together, eat, drink, be merry and kick a lot of skulls in so the streets would be safe while their friends were gone. It was truly the kind of sendoff Hawke and Varric deserved, even if it did leave an awkward sourness in the air sometimes.

“Honestly, I don’t even know how we got to talking about your hair to begin with.” Aeyin wandered closer and smiled at Fenris. It was amazing how easily the man could zone out in the middle of a fight and miss people talking or doing things around him. “Is it cause your bangs are getting long?”

Glancing away, Fenris tried not to smile at him, “Yes.” Even when he wasn’t noticing their chatter, Hawke had managed to notice his hair. That was stupidly cute. “There was speculation because it was getting in my face.”

“Oh. Well don’t cut it - this is your first winter here, right? You’ll want it long then. Kirkwall’s not as bad as Ferelden but it’s definitely still way colder than Tevinter or Seheron.” Hawke seemed to take the practical consideration on that front. Given how Fenris handled cold rains, he was definitely not going to enjoy snow.

His response got a laugh from Isabela who came over to sling an arm around each of their shoulders - a bit of a lopsided maneuver that had her partly lifted off the ground given both were taller than her. “You’re thinking about petting freezing elf ears again aren’t you, Hawke?” she teased, smirking at them both.

The statement got a blush across freckled cheeks and annoyed huff from Fenris, who clawed his bangs out of his face again to distract from any bloodrush to his face. “You’re imagining things.” he ground out, slow and even toned soon as he was able.

“Hawke sure is.” Varric chuckled low and deep, high-fiving Isabela as she abandoned the two to sidle over closer to the dwarf.

Carver crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t see what the big deal is.” he was in less bad spirits than usual, given he had already had a few drinks and was getting to be out and social - and would be getting to go on the expedition - but he still gave a good pout now and then for show.

“Oh, what are we talking about now? I’m afraid I’ve missed it.” Merrill sighed heavily, “I feel so very stupid about these things sometimes.”

Immediately, the dark-haired lad uncrossed his arms and moved to put a hand on her shoulder supportively. “You are not. It’s just some nonsense about my brother liking the grumpy one, that’s all. You’re fine.”

Isabela let out a low whistle, and Anders sighed, but it was Aveline who finally spoke up.

“Is there a family preference for elves I should know about?”

The combined ‘huh?’ from both Aeyin and Carver sent the whole group into rollicks of laughter. At least Aeyin had the good sense to start laughing and not get mad about it, once he was in on the joke. His brother, meanwhile, had puffed up and was blushing again, and with even Merrill giggling, he was clearly unsure if he should smile or not.

When they had settled and the group had moved on to track down the next group of thugs, Fenris and Hawke lagged behind, both as a lookout and just because. The elf found himself reaching up to stroke his bangs out of his face again, this time once more out of nervousness than entirely because they were annoying him. He felt at a loss for something to say to Hawke, even if he felt he should say something given this was the last night he’d see him before the expedition - the last night he’d see him at all if things went bad. But here they were, awkward and at a loss and hesitating whenever they had the chance to speak.

Aeyin seemed as lost about what to say, but on watching Fenris fuss with his hair, he seemed to have an idea spark. “Here, Fen, I have an idea about that, if you wouldn’t mind letting me try it?” he smiled to the elf, pointing to his hair just in case he was being unclear and babbling.

It took a moment for Fenris to decide how comfortable he felt letting Hawke just ‘try’ something with his hair, but after that moment he nodded, allowing the man to approach him and try whatever it was. If it kept his bangs out of his way for the evening, that’d be nice, but getting to be close to Hawke for just a little while longer was the most appealing part.

Stepping closer, the mage’s hands brushed up under his bangs, moving the hair back behind his ears for a moment - that never lasted but it was just long enough for Hawke to press some strange fabric to Fenris’s forehead and pull it back around, tying it off at the nape of his neck. He tucked the long white bangs into the fabric and smiled at Fenris.

“There. That should hold for at least a bit. And you can wear that till you can cut your hair again after the winter’s over.”

The teasing smile that accompanied the wash of black hair that fell by Hawke’s face was what first alerted the elf to just what he was wearing now. The mage’s hair hung loose, more easily tied away from his face at that length than as short as Fenris’s was. It was strange seeing him without that telltale flash of red bandana, whether holding back his hair or covering it completely, but actually being able to see at all was kind of nice. All at once, however, it hit him how close they were standing, and that he was wearing a memento of the man, so easily given when he’d be going away.

“Ah. I cannot keep this, you’re to be going into the Deep Roads soon, I cannot have this for the whole winter.” Sure, it was just a stupid bandana, others existed, but it was his and the fact he wore it constantly, wouldn’t Hawke want that?

The mage snorted, “If I dragged it into the Deep Roads, I’d probably have to throw it away soon as we got out. Darkspawn blood’s pretty damn poisonous. I have spares I’ll wear to keep my hair up down there. This one’s my favorite, so why shouldn’t I leave it here?” Aeyin didn’t say it, but his eyes seemed to add ‘with my favorite person’, though Fenris tried to ignore that. It wouldn’t do to hope for the impossible.

“Hawke, I-” he found himself smiling again, the way he did at one of those stupid jokes the man told. This did feel like a joke, in some ways. It had to be, right? Neither of them was really the sort who could afford to indulge such frivolities of feeling, or attract those sorts of things. But that indulging was always just so…wonderful.

Aeyin rolled his eyes and leaned in to bump their foreheads together for a moment, his hand cupping Fenris’s cheek, “Come on. They’re going to be having a field day teasing us for lagging behind at all, let alone seeing you in that.” he gave a devilish grin and in a flash pulled away, walking backwards ahead of him after their friends.

The elf felt a lot of emotions churning in him at once, several of them conflicted. He didn’t want to be suspicious of Hawke, of gifts - well, lending really, this seemed more like. But he was, he couldn’t help it.

“Hawke! So you are aware - this does not mean you have any claim to me.” he ground the words out, fists clenching at his sides.

Aeyin gave a catlike grin at that one, “I sure hope not. If anything, it’s the reverse.” His brows bounced with the playful implication and he laughed, turning around once more and striding quickly after the others on those blasted long legs.

Fenris sighed heavily. At least the time apart would give him time to get his head untangled from these silly feelings.


End file.
